L'ouïe, For Sound

(a Dance for Voices)

oil painting on canvas 2022

For sound, which rides the air on waves and vibrations, constructing a palace of tunnels through which to dance before arriving in a song or sentence or splash. The inner ear is a labyrinth possessing two windows; one oval, one round. Its delicate canals balance moving waves of frequencies and center the body in equilibrium. Whether or not one hears a sound, it can be felt in these vibrations, the rumble of the floor, the warm buzz of a piano, the distant descent of a plane. These waves invite us to dance and move and swim, to feel a pulse from within and follow it. Sound gives us scales, dissonance, echo, the tender thrum of a voice. The sensations of strings, of wings, of silence, of whistles, of waves, of wind, of words, guiding us towards a certain gesture within. When played together they invent a landscape of resonance where figures swim on sound waves, dancing in harmony to the sweet ringing of that most personal bell.